this will probably seem lamer than lame to anyone reading it, but this is has been bothering me all weekend.
my biggest client, Paulo, is this middle-aged dude who's the president of a lartge real estate firm here in são paulo. i don't jsut say biggest because well, the man is intimidatingly huge, but i teach him 4 times a week. i need horsu, so that's GREAT, even if our classes move frustratingly slow.
the dilemma: last friday, one of his associates came to me asking mehow much i charge. i gave him the breakdown, then remembered paulo is actually my client through this company that hands me business for a cut. in other words, if i take paulo's associate on, i make more money (double, actually), but run the risk of charging him less than paulo is charging, which would be, well, fucked up. worst case scenario: i get fired (obviously). why is this so bad? well, not only would i (might i?) lose my clients, but i'd also lose my main resource for learning material, i.e. textbooks.
i encountered this company through my cousin who is good friends with my boss, so i actually ran into my boss at that brithday part on sat. i couldn't bring myself to talk to her then. i really feel like i should talk it over with my boss instead of just jumping into this client head first. it sucks that i make chicken feed with this company, but the fact is i need their books.
i ahve other clients. maybe i shold decline the client, and not take on any more clients through this company so i ahve mroe time open for students who will pay me directly. of course, taht might make me a worse person in context....
i'm not perfect, damnit.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Dave, don't be so hard on yourself. You are running a business here, you may be the only employee, but the object is the same; you need to make a living. It sounds like this company is taking advantage of your situation in order to make a profit off of your skills, knowing that you need them in order to get materials. This may be a standard business relationship, but if you have the opportunity to get work independently, then it is probably in your best interest to take it.
If your concern is that Paulo is being charged more than his associate, then you could simply keep the rates matched, thus avoiding undercutting the company. The company is probably asking fair market value for the skills you are offering, so why sell yourself short? The catch is that you may want to double check your contract on use of company materials for non-company clients. I have a feeling that wont like having their methods being sold without their consent. Talking to your boss may not be such a bad idea, then at least you know you aren't putting yourself in danger of being fired, and if she says its ok then you can make bank with future clients while still maintaining your job security.
I hope everything works out and remember, you can always come back to the Pitz. We miss you around here.
<3 LG
Post a Comment